1. Field of the Invention
The present invention pertains to a towel which may be worn on the person of the user. For example, athletes frequently find it desirable, and sometimes necessary, to have a towel handy during sporting events. In particular, there is a need for such towels in football, e.g. for use by the quarterback and center who must keep their hands relatively dry in order to maintain a proper grip on the ball. However, this need is by no means exclusive to football players, and many other athletes such as tennis players, basketball players, etc. find it useful to keep a towel in a convenient place during games.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In the past, it has been conventional for football players who require the use of a towel during play to keep an ordinary towel tucked under the waistband of their trousers. However, this arrangement has been far from satisfactory. It is literally impossible for players to keep these towels neatly arranged, and they are of necessity tucked into the players' uniforms in a haphazard manner, thereby detracting from the teams' appearance and getting in the players' way. Furthermore, the towels become dislodged during play, and the players must constantly be rearranging and/or replacing them. Also, when the towels become completely dislodged, they are trampled on the playing field and may thereby become so wet and dirty that they are rendered virtually useless. Indeed, the use of an ordinary towel in this manner is so inconvenient that the linemen who do not frequently handle the ball typically forego the wearing of towels altogether and simply wait until they are at the sidelines to use towels which are kept there. This latter approach to also frequently taken by the players of other sports such as tennis and basektball since it is too troublesome for the players to attempt to keep a towel in place on their person during an actual play.
Several attempts have been made to design towels which would be more convenient for wearing by an athlete during actual play of a sport or game. For example, some of these towels include loops, hooks and the like by which the towels may be more firmly secured to the wearer's garments. However, such attachment means, while suitable for one sport, may be unsuitable for another. For example, a towel which is positively secured at the wearer's waist, as by a belt loop, cannot be readily used to wipe the player's face or neck. Where the attachment means comprises some type of hardware, such as a metal hook, it may be suitable for a sport such as bowling or golf, but would be unsafe for use in contact sports. Other attachment means, such as self-adhering fabrics, while perfectly safe, do not secure the towel firmly enough for certain sports.
Another disadvantage with many prior art towels is that, while they may be provided with more sophisticated means of securing the towel on the user's person, they hang in loose, irregular folds so that their appearance is little better than that of a conventional towel which is merely tucked into or under the garment. On the other hand, where the towel is secured in a neatly folded configuration, some effort is required to open the towel out for use, and this may be a considerable inconvenience in a fast moving game such as football or basketball. Indeed, this latter inconvenience may be experienced even where the towel is not folded but merely hangs loosely.